Branded
by SongForThePainter
Summary: Hermione and Draco return to Hogwarts for their final year after the war as Head Boy and Girl. Hermione deals with an abusive Ron and a hidden past while Draco runs from his emotions like he was brought up to do. Will they find each other in the end? Review please
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Hard Hitter

"You have go to be kidding." The 18 year old witch whispered as she dropped her bag on the floor of the Heads shared common room. She had a lot on her mind on the long train ride back to Hogwarts, not one of them worrying about who she would be working with as Head Boy this year. She figured it would be a intelligent, upstanding Ravenclaw that she could easily coexist with. As she stared at the man sprawled across the couch in front of the fire, she knew she had been wrong.

"Well, well, well." he smirked, looking up from his book to meet her angry gaze. "Long time, no see, Mudblood."

The insult slid right off her back. She was use to it by now and after the war and what happened in the Malfoy Manor, she didn't care enough about standing up for herself to care. So he thought her blood was filthy; she wouldn't lose sleep over his opinion of her.

"I recall seeing you rather recently. At your home with your entire family and some of your friends if I remember correctly." Her eyes cold as she watched him set his book down and stand up from the couch.

He grabbed his wand from the table and walked over to her calmly, only stopping when his toes met hers, their faces inches apart.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean." he denied. He was warning her. The war was over. They played their parts and it was done now. He refused to live one more moment in the past after all he had been through. After all the torture and curses he had been hurt by. He wouldn't show weakness but he also wouldn't grant her the favor of letting her see him as anything but what he had always been. A Malfoy. Ruthless and heartless. He had no remorse. That was an emotion that was unacceptable ever since he was a child. The one trait his father made sure he instilled upon him up until his dying day. Power is everything and remorse has no place in the soul of a man full of power. Not even for the girl standing before him this very moment that had been broken,beaten, and cursed in his own home would let him feel anything but hate towards her and her filthy blood. After all, that was what he chose to fight for in the end. Extermination of her kind. That what the Malfoys have stood for for generations. That's why he has mocked her and torn her down from day one, their first year at school. Because he was told every day of his life by his father that they were not people like they were. And they certainly weren't wizards. They were scum. And that's why he refused to let this vermin make him feel guilty about anything that happened over the course of this year. It was too late for him now. He's a shell of a person and he will hurt her. Over and over again. Because she was filthy and he was pure.

But for some unknown reason, this witch managed to put so many words and emotions into just a look.

Her angry stare faltered and turned into a defeated, broken sadness that he had never seen before, even after all the painful faces of the war. He couldn't look away from her dark brown eyes until she finally spoke, and his gaze snapped behind her shoulder.

"You're more lucky then you realize, Malfoy." her voice so soft that he barely made it out. "You see, I would give _anything _to be able to act like you. To be able to tell myself that what happened in that house never happened. To forget it all and move past it. Move on with my life, with my friends, with my future. _Anything _to make that night disappear from my every nightmare. But I can't. " she said, shrugging her shoulders and he saw her eyes brim with water.

"And I had every intention to get through this final year without drawing any attention to myself or the past year I have had. But now that you and I will be sharing a living space, you must be quite thrilled. I get to wake every morning with you in the next room. I get to walk in after classes and see you here. And then you..." She trailed off, casting her eyes to the ground, her confidence slipping from her entire body.

"I what?" he snapped at her, finally able to meet her eyes with his as a single tear fell from them and hit the floor silently.

"You get the satisfaction of seeing the Mudblood every day, finally being effected by you after all my years of standing up to you. You finally win."

"That's because you let your emotions weaken you. I wont make that mistake. I never have." he sneered, smirking with his victory.

She simply shrugged at him and turned away, walking towards her room. She looked back over her shoulder, "If you have no soul, then what do you live for?" she whispered, disappearing into her room for the night without waiting for his response.

"For power." he said to the empty room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I'm Just A Soul Whose Intentions Are Good

The next morning, Harry and Ron came by her room to catch up for the first time in too long.

"I still can't believe you have to share a room with that asshole." Ron hissed.

Malfoy was in the next room, able to hear everything that was being said as he rolled his eyes. _Doesn't he have any new material?_

"It's really fine, Ronald. He's not such a bad guy." Hermione said, never liking it when they would pick on fellow students, jerks or not.

_What did she just say? _Malfoy now listening more closely against the wall from his bedroom.

"How can you stick up for that piece of shit after all he's done?" Ron yelled, throwing his hands up in outrage.

"Come on, mate, calm down. Hermione is a sweetheart. She doesn't like us badmouthing people and you know that so just shut it." Harry interjected, shooting her a small apology smile.

"Do you forget how he stood there and watched his aunt carve that word into your arm only a few months ago?" he continued.

"Ron, stop it. I didn't mean for you to get all upset." she said, trying to calm him down as she tugged at her sleeve that hid the scar.

_Merlin, that Weasel sure did get worked up over nothing. I don't know how she can stand him. _Malfoy huffed to himself, still listening and waiting to be able to go downstairs to get ready for the day. Her little trio needed to hurry up and get the hell out of his sight.

"Next thing you know, she'll be fuckin him." Ronald muttered to himself, standing up and making his way over to the door.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, enraged at how he could speak to her.

Hermione, however, was at a loss for words.

"Well , well , well." Draco said, Ron's last comment being the last thing he could stand to hear.

"Is this really how friendship works with you Gryffindors?" he smirked, casually walking over to the couch, plopping down on it and placing his feet atop the table in front of him.

"This is none of your business, ferret." Ron seethed, drawing his wand and pointing it at the Head Boy.

"Put that away before you hurt yourself, Ronald!" Hermione finally spoke, drawing her own wand in defense.

"On his side again, eh? Must already be fucking him. Who knew this war would turn you into a slut?" he attacked her with vicious words with no remorse in his eyes.

"Ron that is enough!" Harry interrupted, pointing his wand right at his best friends throat. "Don't talk to Hermione like that just because you're pissed off she's trying to be the better person in this situation! Get out of here right now before I hex you myself!" All it took was one look at the boy who lived to know he was not bluffing.

"I'd listen to Potter, Weasel." Draco seethed, setting his wand on the table to show just how non threatened he found the poor boy in front of him. "That is no way to talk to a lady, even I know that." his voice completely sincere.

"Just tell me you still hate this asshole, Hermione. Tell me you haven't sucked him off and I will apologize." Ron crudely said, staring at the small witch with more judgment and disgust then she had ever seen cross his features.

"Ronald! Don't be so crude!" she shouted, narrowing her eyes at him further, starting to wonder to herself if he was drunk or just being revolting on purpose.

"Ok you, git, I was warning you before. Clearly the muggle here and I are less then friends, but bloody hell, she's still a woman and you should be so smart as to talk to her with some damn respect!" Malfoy snapped, shooting a quick spell at him with the snap of his wrist, sending the red headed boy into the wall with just enough force to hopefully knock some sense into him.

"Malfoy..." Hermione said with surprise, walking over to him and pushing his arm down that held his wand.

"I know, I know." he whispered in reply, lowing his wand while her hand stayed against his wrist. "I'm not going to cast another."

"Shit." Harry muttered as he watched his best friend crash against the wall and his other best friend talking to a Slytherin. _What was this year going to bring upon them?_

"He used magic on me!" Ron exclaimed, getting to his feet after a moment of catching his breath until he could see straight once again.

"And I'll do it again." Draco mumbled, although he was pocketing his wand now that Hermione had gently pushed his arm down.

"You don't have to do this." She whispered to only him. "You don't have to get into trouble for him. He's not worth it." She didn't want to see Malfoy getting punished, no matter how much their past made her want to hate him.

"Aww look at that. Don't they look friendly, Harry." Ron smiled humorlessly at the two Heads whispering.

"I am _not _on your side here, mate. You are completely out of line. She's my friend, for the love of god." he replied angrily.

"Come on, Hermione. Let's just talk in private, okay? I just want to talk." he said with an unsure edge on his voice as he stepped up to her, his body now right in front of both of the Heads.

And then it hit her; his breath. It wreaked of something strong and toxic like he had just consumed all the firewhisky in Diagon Alley. She took a step back, now slightly afraid. She had seen her best friend drunk many times during the war. It was his way of relief. And every time he was absolutely horrific.

"I do not want to speak to you when you are like this, Ronald.' she said, keeping her voice strong so he couldn't see her fear creep in.

"Potter,why would you bring this git here, drunk off his ass like this?" Malfoy shot Harry a look of annoyance

"I had no clue he had been drinking. It's barely after noon." he replied, surprised that he could be this drunk, this early in the day.

"Come on, Hermione. You can suck Malfoys cock later." he mumbled, a gasp escaping from her lips at how casual and crude he spoke to her. And then she felt defensive the moment he reached out and snatched her wrist from Malfoys arm and yank her towards him.

"Whoa." Malfoy narrowed his eyes as he shook off the shock of this entire situation. This was not how their roles were suppose to be played out. _I should not be sticking up for the mudblood witch and poor boy Weasel should not be lashing out in the middle of the day in the middle of their room._

"Stop it, Ron!" she yelled, struggling against his tight grip as he pulled her roughly to the door. "You're hurting me."

"That's clearly what turns you on, so good! I'll keep hurting you until you change back to the old you!" he shot back at her, a loud pop filling the room as he yanked her arm so hard, her bone cracked from her shoulder. She let out a short scream of pain, her knees locking and her body falling to the ground with Ron's hand still gripping her numbing wrist.

"Get up, Hermione." he insisted, pulling her arm even harder causing tears of pain, not sadness, to fall from her dark brown eyes.

"Stop!" she cried out from the pain, remaining on the floor even as he tried to drag her towards the door, still.

"That's enough." Malfoy said mostly to himself as he stalked over to her defeated form. He drew his wand at the same time as he knelt down to her level.

"I suggest you let her go now, Ron." Harry said, trying to stay calm the way he always did when trying to sober him up.

"Not until we talk." Ron said, his voice losing its anger and turning into exhausted sadness, his shoulders starting to slouch over.

Hermione had a pained expression on her face, a bone visibly protruding from her shoulder.

"He's going to hex you, you asshole. Let her go now or I'll be helping that git do it." Harry snapped, stepping to Malfoys side instead of Rons. He put his hand on Hermione's wrist and slowly peeled Ron's hand away from her, causing another hiss of pain to escape her mouth. There was already a dark black mark forming across her wrist and all the men stared at it for a long moment.

"Shit." Draco exclaimed in a low tone, shooing the two Gryffindors away. Before they were completely out of the door he caught their attention one last time.

"Potter!" he called, causing Harry to look back over his shoulder, Ron slumped against his other arm barely conscience.

"I don't want to see him back here again, we clear?" he threatened.

Harry nodded curtly before leading Ron to the hospital wing. "I'm done with this, Ron. This was the last straw. I will not watch you put your hands on her like that. You're on your own, mate." he said to a passed out Ron, dumping him in Madame Pomfrey's care for the last time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Gone With The Wind

"What the fuck was that all about, Granger?" Malfoy exclaimed when they were finally alone, gripping her elbow to help her up off the floor.

"Oh, you didn't grasp it? The whole sucking your cock, fucking thing? He only said it a million times, bloody hell." she snapped, pain shooting up her arm immediately.

"Ahh, damn it!" she screamed, blood dripping down her hand in a steady flow, her wrist apparently not only bruised, but also the flesh torn into.

"For fucks sake, you have a mouth on you." he teased, trying to keep the situation under control as he put his arm under her knees, the other around her back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" she gasped as he lifting her up effortlessly and carried her out of the portrait and across the 6th floor towards the hospital wing.

"Yea, cause you were walking so well back there." he rolled her eyes as he pushed the infirmary door open, careful not to knock her legs or shoulder against it as he slid through it quickly before it shut behind him.

"This night never happened, agreed?" he said, carefully setting her down on one of the beds, waving the mediwitch over.

"Agreed." she nodded, her eyes beginning to flutter. She had lost more blood then either of them realized as it continued to drip down her wrist and onto the stone floor.

"Hey, Granger. Come on, stay awake." he snapped in front of her face as her eyes started to close.

"It is alright, Mr. Malfoy. This happens usually when one has been attacked. I will give her a few potions and she will be fine. She just needs some rest." she explained, dropping a vile of red liquid down her throat slowly before covering the young witch with a blanket.

"Now," she started, leading the blonde haired boy over away from Hermiones bed. "Why don't you tell me what happened."

And so he did. And he made sure he named names.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: God Damn Emotions

"Hey." the curly haired witch greeted the following day as she walked into the Head common room and set her bag on the counter near the kitchen.

"Hey, Granger." Malfoy replied, the two attempting to be civil towards one another; the task not as hard as they imagined it might be.

"How was your first day of classes?" she asked, flicking her wand lightly, conjuring up a glass of firewhisky for herself.

"It was good. My my, Granger. Didn't know you were one to break the rules." he smirked, walking over to her, snatching her glass from her hand and taking a long sip from it, wincing as it burned all the way down.

"Hey!" she laughed, snatching it back. "Get your own."

"Don't mind if I do." he replied, a entire bottle appearing in his outstretched hand.

"You're not going to get tanked now are you?" she asked, taking a long swig from her own glass. She asked him in a joking tone but he knew from her eyes that it was an honest concern.

"Hey." he said, waiting until she looked over at him to continue. "I planned on sharing." he said with a grin. "And no matter how much firewhisky I drank, I wouldn't attack you like that asshole, ok?" he assured her.

"I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore." she admitted, looking down at her glass to avoid his cold eyes.

"I can't hit a woman. It's not..." he searched for the right word.

"It's not in me." he whispered.

"I wont tell anyone, don't worry. Your reputation is safe with me." she smiled brightly, finishing her firewhisky and setting down her glass.

He took the last swig of his before setting down his glass,propping his feet up on the coffee table as they both sat on the couch. He flicked his wand to light a fire before throwing a quilted green blanket hard at her face with a grin.

"Watch it!" she laughed, quickly recovering and unfolding the blanket over her legs. And that was when he noticed her for the first time in 7 years. She was stunning. She wasn't in her robes, for what seemed like the first time in the world to him since he had never taken a second glance at her. Before this year.

She seemed to be dressed for bed, as if she might be turning in for the night soon. She had on a pair of short, black cotton shorts and a tight red tank top that showed a few inches of her stomach when it bunched up like it had now as she pressed her back against the couch. She had a pair of ankle socks on too, one red, one purple; and for some reason that was what drew him to her. She was different. She was cute in a normal, no need to try, kind of way.

"What's with the socks, Granger?" he poked fun at her, pulling her legs up onto the couch to fall in his lap, his feet still on the coffee table.

"People don't normally see my feet so I don't go through much trouble finding a matching pair." she explained, wiggling her feet in his lap. "But since we live together, don't you judge me!" she joked.

"So, blunt question, if you don't mind."

"You can ask. I can't promise I will answer depending on how personal it is."

"Have you always looked like this? I've never seen you outside of your robes." he said honestly.

Surprise crossed Hermione's face at his straight forward words. "Oh. Umm.. yes." she started. "I suppose I have." she pulled down the back of her tank top to cover her middle, putting her hand over her forearm to cover the angry, red letters.

"You don't have to worry about it, you know." he said, gesturing with a raised chin to her arm.

"It's not for your benefit as much as mine." she shrugged. "I don't like to look at it. I don't like to remember her."

He knew she was referring to his blood relative, Bellatrix Lestrange. It seems like that was just a few days ago, when in reality, it has been almost a years time. He imagined the Head Girl beside him felt the same way.

"You know, the first day when you said I was thrilled to get to see you suffer every day?" he slowly brought up, wondering if she even recalled the moment.

"Yes, I remember. I didn't mean to be so rude, I was just surprised at the situation. Living with you and all." she replied, bowing her head a bit.

"There's nothing wrong with saying how you feel, Granger. Don't be sorry. Did you mean it?"

"Yes." She answered quickly. "I would assume it to be nice to admire your handywork." she said with a shrug.

"That wasn't me." he explained, resting his hands on her knees that still sat in his lap. "In that house, with those people. I was a shell of who I wanted to be. My thoughts weren't even my own. And believe it or not, I _am_ sorry." he said, causing her eyes to widen.

"You're..." she stammered. "You're what?"

"I'm sorry. For not being my own person and letting my father take over my entire being. I didn't want to watch her torture you. When I sleep, your screams are all I hear and it haunts me every night." he admitted, looking into the fire as she stared at the side of his face.

"I don't hold it against you. I don't know your life, Malfoy. Just like you don't know mine. You never layed a hand on me, so I have no reason to hold any anger towards you other then our riverly in school the past 7 years." she said with a short laugh.

"I wanted to stop her." he said, taking another swig of firewhisky, his hand still on her knees in his lap. He let his thumb mindlessly draw circles on her leg as she tried not to be ticklish.

"You were protecting your family. If you had gone against the dark, they would have been killed. You did what was best for you just like I did. You don't have to feel bad about making less then kind decisions to save the ones you love." she had forgiven him. In fact, she never really blamed him in the first place. While she was laying on the floor, blood dripping down her arm, she had met his stare. And it wasn't him in his eyes. He had shut his emotions off and watched with no feelings. She knew that and she accepted his way of war.

"Now, if you will please stop!" she exclaimed, swatting his hand away and withdrawing her legs up to her cheast. "I am very ticklish." she laughed, her back against the arm of the couch facing him.

"Is that so?" he smirked, raising an eyebrow at her statement.

"Don't you dare." she glared at him, wrapping her arms around her legs and folding into herself with a smile.

"I think I may have an upper hand here, Granger." he replied before reaching across the couch, grabbing her hips as she squealed and tried to push him away.

"Ok, ok, ok!" she yelled, out of breath from laughter. "You win!" she finally said,her back now flat on the couch, his body hovering over hers. He ran his hand down her side, his fingers grazing her bare skin where her shirt had ridden up to expose her hips.

"What do I get for winning?" he whispered, his hand lightly moving against her skin to remind her that he was in control.

"What do you want?" she whispered back, her warm breath hitting against his lips at their closeness.

"I think I have what I want." he admitted, slowly letting her up from the couch as he lifted his body off of hers.

"Is that right?" she smirked, sitting upright on the couch now, pulling her shirt down over her stomach.

"Yea. Us being civil with each other." he walked up to his room door before turning back and grinning at her over his shoulder as she stood up as well.

"And you wearing that." he finished, opening the door to his room and shutting it quietly behind him.

Just when he thought he had won, she walked up to his closed door and put her palm against it silently.

"And you haven't even seen my tattoos." she said with a smirk before heading to her room across from his.

_Oh, she's good. _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: I'll Give You A Hint

The following week flew by quickly as they finished up their last class of the day before the weekend could officially begin. The two heads were paired together in potions class, much to Rons annoyance as he sat behind them. Watching them being anything less then at one anothers throats was beyond insanity to him. As he watched them cooperate and get along, his jealous overtook him and he tuned out of the lesson and paid attention to every word they spoke to one another.

Malfoy dropped in the final ingrediant as she stired the potion slowly, surprised when he leaned over close to her, his lips grazing her left ear as he spoke in a hushed tone.

"Don't think I forgot about your little stab at me last week. I'm going to find out about those tattoos you taunted me with." he joked, casually looking over at her book as he spoke so nothing appeared personal to their classmates. But his hot breath in her ear affected her more then she would ever admit.

She smirked to herself as she finished stiring the couldren in front of her, pouring the potion into a vile to set as class was dismissed.

"I couldn't help but overhear." Ron interjected, Hermione grabbing her bag quickly before attempting to step around him. Of course, he didn't allow that.

"Get out of her way, Weasley. Can't you take a hint?" Malfoy said, shoving him back roughly before ushering Hermione around him, his hand on the small of her back as he pushed her towards the door

"Want to know where her tattoos are? They are hidious muggle brands on her body just like that ugly scar on her arm." he laughed, Malfoy stopping in his tracks.

"Let's just go. Don't even bother with him." she said, grabbing Dracos wrist to try to pull him along.

"You know I've never been one to walk away. That's why you punched me in third year, remember?" he smirked, taking a step back towards the red headed wizard.

"I think she made it clear that until you got your act together, she wanted nothing to do with you. Does that sound about right?" he narrowed his eyes at the shorter man, Malfoys annoyance apparent in his every word.

"I'm not the one who needs to get their act together. I'm not that one who acts like an innocent little virgin when you know you aren't." he shot over Malfoys shoulder at Hermione.

"Taking someones virginity only grants you bragging rights if the girl wasn't screaming 'stop, get off me' the whole time, so don't you dare bring that up!" Hermione exclaimed, thankful that the rest of the class had cleared out. She pointed her finger at him sternly as she brushed past Malfoy to stand at Rons toes to glare up at him.

"How dare you try to act proud of taking what wasn't yours. I am still a virgin, Ron; whether you care to believe it or not. Because what you did to me hardly counted. I wont let it." she sneered, smacking his hard across the face.

"And how dare you spread my buisness around when it doesn't concern you in the slightest." she added, Malfoy knowing full well that she meant telling him about it.

"You bitch!" Ron exclaimed, taking her wrist that she had just attacked him with in his grasp.

"Do you just think I'm not here if i don't speak for two seconds?" Malfoy asked confused as he took two long stides over to Ron and punched him clear across the room. Hermiones wrist was dropped as her attackers body was knocked back into the desk they had been working on moments ago.

"Maybe next time you will think before putting your hands on someone right in front of me." he spat, shaking his hand out hard as she let Hermione pull him out of the classroom.

"Maybe it's just that one that you care about me putting my hands on." Ron whispered as he got to his feet.

Malfoy looked back over his shoulder as he continued to walk away from him. "Yea, maybe." he said confidently, heading back to their shared common room down the hall.

Hermione immediatly tried to head into her room the moment she stepped foot through the portrait. Dracos voice stopped her in her tracks, her foot stepping down from the first step up to their rooms.

"So the rape thing." he said, causing Hermione to close her eyes tightly and slowly turn on her heels to face him. "Am I just suposse to pretend I didn't hear that?" he exclaimed, annoyance in his eyes.

"Yes, that's exactly what you are suposse to do." she snapped back at him, walking up the stairs and into her room, stripping off her robes, eager to get into bed and end this horrible day.

"That's not possible." she heard him speak behind her. Cleary knocking was a skill he was just as bad at as he was walking away from arguements with her former friends.

She stood with her back to him, her robes discarded on the floor as she pulled a dark green tank top over her head, Malfoys eyes stuck on her body as she shed her clothes and changed into new ones. Her legs were bare as she stood in her black lace hipster panties, taking a deep breath before turning around to face him once she had at least a shirt on.

"So clearly, knocking isn't your style." she smirked, walking past him and opening her top dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of shorts.

"Not when I'm as infuriated as I am right now, no." he said with narrowed eyes, watching her pull her shorts up her legs and around her waist, her hip bone catching his eyes as she turned away from him again. He saw one of them now. Not all the way but a streak of black ink coming up from the waist of her pants let him know she hid art beneath her waist. And once he wasn't so upset with her, he was going to see it.

"Well, I'm ready for bed so let's just talk in the morning." her voice pleading as she pulled back the dark red comforter on her bed.

"How do you expect me to just walk away after hearing what he did? How can I just walk out of your room right now when I know you were-" she cut him off.

"Don't say it." she said curtly. "_Please"_she added desperately.

He had to. She had to hear it.

"He raped you, Granger. He raped you and you want me to just be ok with that." he walked over to where she stood beside her bed and took the heavy blanket from her hand.

"He didn't. He tried to but he didn't. He's right I'm still a virgin, much to his dismay." she said rolling her eyes and she let her butt bounce onto her bed before her back fell against the sheets as well.

"He should be killed none the less." Malfoy sneered, leaning back on his palms to look down at her as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Why do you even care so much? It's just me." she said, trying to make light of the situation. But his response made her feel otherwise.

"Exactly." he whispered, standing up and walking to her door. "It's you." And then he closed her door behind him and entered his own, the pair of them staring at the ceiling for most of the night, unable to clear their thoughts


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Show Me

"So, when am I going to see this ink of yours?" Malfoy said the next morning as he sat down at the table with a cup of coffee.

Hermione was across the room on the couch, her nose buried in a book of course. She looked up at the new voice in the room.

"Well, if you keep coming into my room without knocking, you're bound to see a few of them. " she said without looking up. She had a small smirk accross her lips as she reread the same sentence for the fourth time, unable to concentrate with their new conversation topic.

"See, now you just surrendered all your privacy. Good job." he laughed, sipping his hot coffee and skimming over the Daily Prophet.

"So, what does the imfamous Draco Malfoy do on the weekends?" she asked curiously, shutting her book before walking passed him and into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and hopped up on the counter, bringing it to her lips.

"Not the same things I have done the last 6 years." he shrugged, turning the page of his paper. "Most of my former friends are either dead or in Azkaban." his voice casual.

"I'm sorry." she said, a small pout on her lips. "That must be rough."

"Don't be sorry for that, Granger." he said, now setting the prophet down and getting to his feet. "They deserve it. Merlin knows I should suffer the same fate as them." he patted her knee as he passed her place on the counter.

She narrowed her eyes and turned around on the marble surface, crossing her legs up in front of her as he leaned against the fridge.

"Why would you say that?" her voice with a sharp edge he rarely heard.

"Are you kidding? You know the things I've done in the War. I've killed. And worse, I've killed for fun. People like you, Granger. I slaughtered people like you without even thinking. I deserve to be in Azkaban." he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She shook her head and jumped down from the counter. She put both hands to his face and made sure he met her stare before speaking. "You deserve a second chance."

"Your blind faith in people is going to get you killed some day, Granger. I'm not someone you should trust." he replied, wanting her to know all the people he has hurt. And if the time had come in the war; in the Manor. He would've hurt her too.

She shook her head with a small smile, letting her hands fall from his face. She quickly grabbed her bag from the couch and threw it over her shoulder. Before she walked out of the door, she looked over her shoulder at him.

"My faith in people-" she searched for the right words. "My faith in _you._ It's what makes me strong." and with that she was gone and he was alone with more questions then he wanted to think about.

_Pansy_

_I haven't seen you since the year started. Come on up to the Heads common room if you have some time this weekend._

He attached the letter to his owls leg before sending her out the window.

He picked up on of his school books and settled on studying for a few hours while he had the place to himself.

Hermione on the other hand, was spending her free weekend exploring the streets of Diagon Alley. She picked up a few new books and trinkets before she went to meet Harry for lunch.

"Hermione." he called from a outside cafe across the street.

"Harry." She smiled, setting her bags down and taking a beat close beside him.

"Let me guess." he looked at her belongings. "You bought some new books?"

"Am I just the most predicable girl in London?" she laughed, letting the witch hostess conjure her a firewhisky and scone.

"In a good way." her best friend assured her.

"What what's been new with you? I feel like I haven't been able to see you lately."

"Well I was just looking in some shops for ideas on what to get Ginny for our anniversery. It's next week and I still am so clueless." he admitted, sipping his firewhisky beside her.

"Oh Harry Harry Harry." she teased. "Jewlery. The answer is always jewlery. Let me help you pick something nice out for her, ok? I know what she will like." And the pair did just that.

"I see the war hasn't changed you one bit." Pansy jokes, hugging her best friend before sitting beside him on the sofa.

"I see the same for you." he smiled, handing her a glass of firewhisky.

She took a slow sip before turning to face him, one leg pulled up onto the sofa beneath her.

"So, how is it living with the Gryffindor?" she asked with curiousity.

"You want honesty?" he asked, her nodding slowly in return.

"It's bloody horrible." he exclaimed, downing his firewhisky and pressing her head back against the couch.

"Oh, come now Draco. You and I aren't who we use to be. And neither is she. I have spoke to her and she is actually quiet lovely." Pansy explained, tapping his knee for reassurence.

"Exactly! And she wears these muggle clothes around the common room all night and talks about normal things and is actually funny. Can you believe that? The muggle born is witty and pleasent to be around!" he said shaking his head and looking over for his friends response. All he recieved was her blank stare.

"Well...!?" he urged for her imput.

"I'm sorry. You're right, that sounds absolutely horrid." she smirked, setting her glass down.

"It's almost like things were easier when we hated eachother." he whispered to himself. A door shutting behind them surprised both of them, their heads instantly turning to see who was there.

"Now don't get too discouraged, Malfoy." Hermione walked passed them, setting her bags on the kitchen table and grabbing a glass of water. "You still have plenty of hate towards me." she said with a smirk, catching his blue eyes with her dark ones.

"That's the spirit!" Pansy laughed, standing up to greet her classmate.

"How was your trip to Diagon Alley, Hermione?" Pansy asked, helping her empty the shopping bags into neat piles on the table.

"It was great. Met Harry for some lunch and helped him pick out something for Ginny. It's their anniversery and of course, being a man, he was clueless on what to buy her." Hermione explained. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know. Still stuck with this one." Pansy joked, motioning to Draco.

"Hey." he protested, walking over and poking his friend lightly on her side. "I am nothing short of glorious company." he boasted.

The girls both chuckled before Hermione took off her winter robe, leaving her in a dark pair of skinny jeans and a dark green tshirt. Pansy smiled discreetly as she watched her fellow Slytherin take in every move his roommate made.

"I find his modesty to be the most attractive." Hermione shot back, her body brushing passed his as she headed up the steps to her room, her new books in her arms.

He was left speechless by her quick retort, watching her walk away until she was hidden behind her door.

"Merlin, sweetie. Could you be any more obvious. I mean, bloody hell!" Pansy laughed, pushing his shoulders back playfully.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he said, smacking her hands away as she continued to smile.

"Of course you don't." she said, patting him hard on the back before heading for the door. "It really was nice to catch up. We will have to get together soon and you can tell me about your summer. I want to hear how your mother has been. As for tonight, I am going to get some shut eye."

"Goodnight, Pansy." he replied, opening the portrait for her and then heading back to take a seat in front of the roaring fireplace.

He was a few pages into his Potions textbook when he took note of his roomates door open and shut upstairs. He didn't look up from the page when he heard her soft steps coming down the stairs and go into the kitchen.

"Oh my word." her voice causing him to glance up.

"Don't tell me you're studying." she put her hands over her heart in mock disbelief. "On a _weekend_?"

"Did you come down here just to bother me, Granger?" he rolled his eyes at her joke before casually return his attention to the book infront of him.

"No, I came down because I am starving. Would you like some pasta if I made it?" she offered, bending down to get a large pot from under the stove. She put it on the burning before pointing her wand at it, filling it with already boiling water.d

"You know, you're the smartest girl in your year and you are going to spend the time _cooking _instead of just conjuring?" he asked with surprise, closing her book and joining her in the kitchen. He took a seat on one of the barstools that was placed under the island in the center of the kitchen. He watched every move she made. It was like a trainwreck he couldn't help but admire. Except a trainwreck to him was the same as the know it all Gryffindor he was now addmitting to himself that he found incredibly alluring in every way.

"Don't you ever just do things without magic?" she asked, pouring a box of penne pasta into the boiling pot of water, stiring it with a wave of her wand.

"No. I'm a wizard, not a muggle." he answered quickly, almost as a reflex.

She shrugged, reaching up to grab two bowls from the shelf above the sink. Her shirt inched up to reveal her stomach for only a moment before she was off her tip toes, pasta bowls in her hand.

And what he saw in that split second made his eyes widen with desire, a smirk spreading slowly over his lips.

He quickly got up from his seat and wrapped his arms around her from behind, her body jumping in surprise.

"Malfoy, what are you -" but she couldn't even get the words out quick enough.

"Show me the ink, Granger. I caught a glimpse of it when you reached up." he let her go before turning her around to face him,backing her up against the counter. She placed her hands on the old marble behind her as he stepped closer.

"It's nothing."she brushed him away, pulling her shirt down nervousely.

"If it's nothing, you could show me." he whispered, casually taking the bottom of her shirt in his hands.

"Is this how you get all the girls to take their shirts off? You know I'm smarter then them, Malfoy." she said, turning around to strain and sauce the pasta. She placed some in each bowl before shoving one into his hands and sitting at the bar to enjoy her own.

He sighed with defeat before sitting beside her with his muggle entre.

"Do you not trust me?" he finally asked after they were finished eating.

"Should I? I don't hate you, Malfoy. If we are being honest, I never did. But my tattoos; more so, my _body_ is something I don't just go parading around. I know you think I'm some loud mouth know-it-all, but believe it or not, I have a lot of secrets and things I keep very private. Like my body, and what the ink means." she explained, not trying to offend him.

The were still sitting side by side on barstools in the kitchen at this point.

"I know I've done a lot to hurt you in the past." he started, looking over at her as she averted her eyes.

"Malfoy, don't-" she started to say but he stopped her.

"No, I need to say it. You need to know. I know I'm in Slytherin and you are in Gryffindor and all that shit that made us enemies made us not trust one another in the past. But who I am right now; the guy sitting right next to you. I would never do those things again. I wouldn't go out of my way to hurt you." his sincerity in his words took her by surprise, causing her head to snap up and lock eyes with him.

She was silent for a moment, simply searching his stare for anything that might show false sincerity. But there was nothing but intensity and compassion behind the grey blue orbs.

She stood up without a word, turning her back to him as she walked over the the back of the couch, resting on her arms against it while she leaned over. She put her head in her hands for just a moment, running them over her curls as she pulled them away. Draco stood up as well, sitting in front of her on the couch. He turned at the waist to look behind him, her body still leaning againt the back of where he sat.

"It's an angel." she started, her voice a sad whisper. She crossed the room to the fireplace, figeting with a small candle there. She avoided his curiouse stare as she went on. "The tattoo you saw when my shirt lifted up in the kitchen. It's a muggle angel. The angel of death to be exact. I got it to represent words I couldn't say to myself after the War. It took me a long time to finally admit that my friends were all dead. That I had almost died. But mostly, I got it because I should've been one of them." she finally looked over at him with a bowed head, her dark eyes visable under her thick lashes.

"I should be dead." she whispered with a sad heave of her shoulders.

Draco had no idea how dark and hurt Granger had been inside her own mind. She always was the best at putting on a happy face in front of the rest of the world. And it even fooled him. But now that he knew, he couldn't pretend not to care anymore. He stood up, taking two steps towards her at the fireplace. He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her glassy eyes to meet his.

"Show me." he whispered, his eyes never leaving her face.

The dark haired girl hesitated before tearing her eyes away to glance at the floor, her fingers grazing the bottom of her tank top. "Can I trust you?" she asked, looking away from him as she spoke, her eyes hidden beneath her lashes.

He nodded, watching her with curiousity. His voice was a whisper so soft, almost afraid to break her with just his words.

"You can trust me."

She pulled her tank top over her head slowly, her hair falling down over one shoulder before she tossed the material over the fireplace. Her body immediately tensed up when she felt his eyes on her. She'd never shown anyone this before and couldn't believe she was showing her enemy from school her secrets now.

Malfoy watched as she discarded her thin top, her dark skin clad only in a black bra and dark cotton shorts. He tried not to notice but how could he not? She had the most equisit figure he had ever laid eyes on. Her hourglass figure, curving in at the waist and then out at her slender hips was entirely smooth; her skin the color of a light caramel.

"See, it's not so impressive." she said lightly, turning slightly so her side faced him. Ink covered her entire side from the bottom of her bra to the top of her waistband and over the length of her ribs on her entire right side.

"Wow." he muttered, stepping closer to her, his feet directly in front of hers. "You're right. Not impressive in the slightest." he said flatly, his tone indicating the falsity in the words. His eyes contiued to rake over her side, the black lines standing out against her skin. It looked to be almost human in every way except for the large dark wings that came from over its shoulders, its head bowed down into its palms. It was interesting to see how much the angel remembled the woman whos body it was etched into. Both looking to be almost folded into themselves, keeping quiet from the rest of the world.

"Can I..?" he trailed off, raising his hand nonthreateningly towards her bare flesh.

She nodded her permission, now watching his every move. Even though she felt something for the Slytherin in front of her, be it trust or curiousity, she still almost expect him to drive a dagger through her ribs . But even still, she gave him permission to do what no one had ever done since the war. She gave him permission to touch her body, which was half exposed in front of the fire.

The moment his fingers grazed her side, heat spread through her body. The angel was beatifully drawn into her skin; it's wings spread up to the tops of her ribs, touching the bottom of her bra line.

"Did it hurt?" he asked, trying to make her body less tense. He hated that he made her so uncomfortable so he withdrew his hand after a few seconds.

"No more then what made me get it." she said with a light smile, grabbing her shirt from the mantel. And then something came over him that made him question everything about himself. Before she could pull the fabric over her head, his hand touched her wrist.

"Don't." he said firmly, his eyes doing a quick once over of her smooth, exposed body. "Leave it." he whispered, taking the shirt from her hands and flinging it behind him onto the couch before grabbing her hip and pulling her flush against his chest.

"Malfoy, what -" but before she could finish , his lips were hot on hers, his hand pressing up the side of her body with the angel, the other hand holding her hip firmly against him.

He expected her to shove him away immediately but no such thing happened. Instead, he felt her gasp against his mouth in surprise before kissing him back passionately. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck, trailing up it slowly as her fingers raked into his scalp and through his soft, tossled hair.

They both fell onto the couch, Malfoy discarding his shirt as she straddled his hips.

"Now this isn't fair. I had half my clothes off to begin with." She smirked, her fingers grazing the front of his muggle jeans.

"This is true." he said, kicking the denim to the floor before pulling her down against his chest. She pulled her hair over to one shoulder before pressing her mouth against his. A moan escape his lips as he ran his hands up her bare back, the feeling of her small, toned body against his made him lose all his senses. "And you looked remarkable." he grinned, flipping them over quickly, earning a small giggle from the Gryffindor.

Her hair fell behind her across the couch pillows as Draco hovered above her, his hands moving over her flesh carefully as he watched her eyes fill with lust.

She pulled the back of his neck down roughly, crashing his mouth against hers as his fingers moved to the top of her lace panties. "We should go upstairs" Hermione said against his lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she leaned to sit up against him. He kissed her softly then before hoisting her up against him, his hands holding her bottom as they stumbled up to his bedroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: I'll Keep You Safe Here With Me

"We don't have to do this, Granger." he said from below her, pushing her hair back with his full hand until it fell over her back. She looked stunning straddling his waist in only her panties, her curles cascading down her back, many more black marks all over her flesh.

"I want to." she whispered, leaning down to capture his mouth with hers, his tongue pushing into her mouth causing her to moan against him.

"You told me yourself that you are a virgin. I shouldn't be your first." he reasoned, his hands none-the-less trailing down her flat stomach to slip inside her panties.

He threw his head back in lustful aggrivation as his fingers came away wet from doing so. "Merlin, you're so wet." he groaned, keeping his hand between her theighs, using the other to pull her hair back until her neck was to his level, his lips trailing down her jawline and down to her pulse. When he found it, he let his mouth stay there as his fingers moved against her center. She let out a small yell as he bit down on her pulse point, a sound he thought was the cutest he had ever heard from a woman.

"You'll have to put those brains of yours to use in the morning, beauiful." he smirked, letting his tongue run over the same patch on her neck as his other hand continued to touch her. "Because I'm about to mark you." he smiled against the crook of her neck where it met her shoulders, biting down hard enough to earn another small scream of pleasure from her lips.

She tossed her head back as his mouth stayed connected to her neck, his fingers still under her panties as he sucked on her skin.

Her chest moved up and down as her breathing became heated. One arm snaked around his neck, urging him to keep biting while her other hand pressed hard against his firm stomach. She let her fingers run across his muscle lines, slowly dragging her flat palm down lower until it reached the top of his black briefs. She felt him go rigid against her as her hand touched his hard cock as she removed his last piece of clothing.

"Granger." he exhaled, his lips kissing her neck lightly now as he removed her panties as well.

"Shh." she whispered sweetly with a smile. "It's ok." She was still flush against him, both their hands between eachother, making the other hotter with each movement. She looked up at him from under her dark lashes, stroking him almost teasingly with a small smirk playing across her lips.

She slowly lowered herself down his naked body until her knees were parted at his feet. She pressed gently on his torso, urging him to lay back. He did as she instructed, running his hand down the side of her neck and into the back of her hair, gripping it roughly at the nape.

Draco was left to stare at the ceiling of the lightless room as his old enemy slowly trailed her tongue from his stomach down to the inside of his theighs. He groaned with pleasure, tightening his grip of the back of her head causing her breath to quicken with excitement.

She didn't tease him for long. She couldn't hold back any longer then she imagined he could. She plced hot open mouth kisses down his torso before taking him in her mouth. The moment she did so, she felt him tug her hair, his roughness getting her even hotter. She pumped him in an out of her mouth, letting her tongue swirl around the base each time she came up.

"You feel so good." he groaned, his words barely comprehensive as he jerked his hips up to meet her mouth each time. "I'm about to-" he started, as if to warn her to finish with her hands or what else she couldn't guess. But she didn't want to do anything but keep going. And so she did. A few more hot seconds inside her mouth and he released with a low vibration from underneath her. Hermione flicked her tongue around his cock slowly one last time as she swalloned her prize. She smirked cunningly up at him as she licked her top lip, throwing her hair over one shoulder.

"If you want us to stop, you have got to stop looking at me like that." he breathed, sitting up and snagging her down on top of him by her waist. He reached his other hand up to push her hair out of her face, resting it on the side of her neck. His thumb ran across her cheek as she leaned into it with a smile he knew she only let him see. It was her genuine, content smile. And it nearly made him fall apart.

"If I wanted to stop, I don't think I would be in your bed." she replied, her warm breath hitting his lips underneath her as she spoke. She leaned down just barely, kissing him differently then she had been all night. He wasn't sure if she noticed, but he definately did. It wasn't rough or passionate or lustful. It was... Draco raked his mind for the right word as he let his tongue run along her lips. He felt her smile against his kiss as he softly bit her bottom lip, dragging it into his mouth.

And then she kissed him again and he found the word he was looking for.

She was sweet. Hermione Granger, the girl naked on top of him was a sweet, _sweet _girl. And for the first time all night, she kissed him like one. And he wanted her.

"Well, I am definately glad to have you in my bed." he said, putting both his hands on her hips.

She smiled down at him innocently, her head cocked to one side causing her hair to fall down her shoulder in ringlets. "I want it. It's ok, I promise." she assured him, leaning down to kiss him gently for the first time all night.

"I'm glad. Because I want you." he said with a serious stare, pulling her hips against him, his cock immediately sliding into her so fast she let out of scream of surprise.

He felt her tense around him which made him even harder, filling her up even more. He wrapped one arm around her back, the other up to her neck, locking his eyes with hers.

He pumped into her slowly at first, knowing she was hurting. "Are you ok?" he asked quietly; the concern in his voice surprising them both. He noticed his voice alone had made her body relax against him, her hips starting to move against his as she rode him from above.

She leaned down, her hips thrusting against him as she did so making Draco moan with pleasure. She kissed him slowly on the lips, her tongue teasing his causing him to smile. "I'm very ok." she promised, grinding her hips again, her body feeling better then it ever has.

"Good." he whispered, wrapping his arm around her back and flipping her over on the bed, her hair fanning out over the dark green pillows. He pumped into her harder now, the two of them in perfect sync. Only moments later did they both reach the top, peasure coursing through them as they collapsed side by side.

The two heads were breathing heavily now, the dark room filled with a deafening silence.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked suddenly, her body folding up as she turned towards him. She tucked her hands under the pillow and stared over at him, the sheets draped casually over their bare bodies.

Draco had a decision to make in that moment.

On one side, he was a Slytherin; and a Malfoy above that. His father would disown him if he ever brought her around. His house would make the rest of this year a living hell if he was ever caught being anything but snide towards a muggle born Gryffindor. Not to mention the two heads shared a dormitory, making it hard to avoid each other.

But on the other side, Malfoy actually enjoyed the witches company in more ways then just physical. She was fun, witty, and when alone with him in the safety of her own dorm, a much darker, firey version of herself. But most importantly, she was the only witch to look past the rumors and the lies and actually see him as he really was. She didn't accuse him of being a Death Eater like her friends did. And as he layed next to her in bed, contimplating his answer, a memory from just a few moments ago flashed across his mind

"_Can I trust you?" _she had asked him by the fireplace.

And he had assured her that she could. He knew his next words weren't what he wanted to say. He knew that it was 18 past years of emotional torment and upbringing that made him shut down when he felt even slightly attracted to anyone that wasn't a preapproved, boring, slutty, Slytherin. But even though he realized this, he couldn't erase his whole lifes upbringing and training. And as he felt his fathers influence take over his freewill, he turned on his side and looked her cold in the eyes.

He watched her narrow her stare in innocent confusion as she looked at him, noticing the emotion was gone from his eyes.

"Draco?" she asked, her voice full of concern for him as she flinched back slightly, holding the sheet against her bare chest. "Are you ok?" still worried but also pushing back against the mattress, his entire being surprising her. She went to bed with the new, kind Draco Malfoy who had showed empathy towards her earlier that night. And now she was staring back at what looked exactly like the Draco Malfoy she remembered from the war. The one she had caught eyes with across the stone floor of the manor as she bled right in front of him. The one who didn't care about her in the slightest.

She thought she knew what was coming. A quick "get out" from him and a night of regret for her. But it wasn't that simple. What he said next was so much worse.

"No, I'm not ok." he lashed out, throwing the sheets off himself and grabbing his dark green pajama pants that were drapped over his desk chair.

Hermione slowly grabbed her panties from the edge of the bed and slipped them on while under the covers, doing the same with her bra. She carefully removed the covers and put her feet on the floor beside the bed.

"Put some clothes on, my god. I can't look at your digusting body for one more second." he snapped, picking her small shorts up from the floor and throwing them at her. She caught them quickly in surprise before they hit her face. She then stood up from the bed as cautiously as she could, thinking maybe if she was quiet enough in her movements, she could disappear from his site. She had no such luck as she pulled her shorts up and over her butt, looking down at her hands with complete embaressment. His next words only fueling the tears she was holding back.

"This never should've happen." he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in anger, flinging her shirt at her next. She caught in, slipping it on over her body. She pulled it down as much as she could, wanting to hide every inch of skin that she could in this moment. Unfortunately, her legs were bare, the shorts barely covering her theighs and her shirt still hugged her small frame.

"Was it that bad?" she whispered, her head hanging down avoiding his stare.

His eyes flickered for a moment, sadness at her voice evident in them for only a moment before the mask was thrown back up.

"Of course it was that bad!" he exclaimed, taking a few long strides across the room until he stood right in front of her. She didn't dare look up if she wanted to keep the tears inside her glassy brown eyes.

"I mean, look at you." he said, waving his hand up and down at her with a look of disgust across his face. And then she did something he didn't expect. She did what he had just told her to do.

He watched her bowed head move up slightly, catching a glimpse of her glossy dark eyes under think black lashes. He watched as she examined her own body, her eyes raking over her chest, her stomach, all the way down to her feet. She even stopped a moment to look at her hands, turning at the waist to look at her ass and legs. She didn't look up at him as her hair fell around her face in long dark curls, her hands running through them in inspection.

And then she nodded, as if agree with the blasphomy coming from his lips. That's not what he wanted. He didn't want her to agree. Where was her fight? Her house bravery and courage?

_Is she so scared of me that she wont even defend herself? _The thought shook him to his core. He wasn't even himself anymore. He didn't know who that even was after years and years of being molded into a replica of the man he never wanted to resemble.

And then he realized why she wasn't screaming back at him like anyone else would have. Why she wasn't calling him names and throwing curses from her wand. She couldn't. All the years they had been in school together, he had never seen her put anyone down. Even when he had called her every name in the book. She would simply shoot him a dirty look and walk away. That's because, as he had realized moments ago, naked in bed with her, she was a sweet girl. Too sweet to say the words he was so easily throwing at her. And somehow that made him even more motivated to cut her down.

He grabbed her arm roughly, pulling it towards him. She stumbled forwards as he did so, her body almost slamming into his chest. She watched as he examined her scared arm, running his fingers over the letters with nothing close to a gentle touch. "This suits you." he said, throwing her arm back at her.

"How..." her voice trailed off in a whisper as she took a step away from him. She finally lifted her head to stare into his eyes, tears now falling freely from her own.

"Granger, I -" she cut him off with a violent shake of her head. Her curls fell over one shoulder as she stepped back from him again.

"How can you say that?" she whispered, her voice so quiet that he barely heard her. But he did. And he felt like a dagger was driven into his spine as she stared at him entirely different then she had in bed only minutes ago. She was so free, trusting and fun with him as they had rolled around, laughing under the sheets. And now her eyes were broken, staring up at him from across the room in a way that almost looked like fear. Not at what he would do, but at what he might say.

"I never promised you anything. This was just sex. It meant nothing. Just because you were a virgin doesn't mean I have to give a shit about a bloody muggle like you." he spat, opening his bedroom door wide, sweeping his hand through the threshhold as he looked at her.

"You're right, you never promised me anything. And I was very clear with it just being sex with no emotions attached. And I was also very clear that you don't give a shit about me." she said, her voice empty of anger and filled with only sadness as she quickly walked to the door. "But you did lie to me." she said, standing right in front of him at the entryway.

"I never-" she cut him off, pressing her finger to his lips. The simple contact made more tears spring to her eyes as she sniffed silently.

"You said I could trust you, Draco. You _promised_." she whispered, walking out of his bedroom and hurrying into her own.

_I can't believe I was so stupid. I showed him everything about myself that I never wanted anyone to see. He saw my tattoos, my body, and if the room hadn't been so dark, he would've seen the war scars across my back. And I let him see me willingly. All he had to do was be nice for a few minutes to make up for 7 years and I just jumped into bed with him. _

Hermione went into their ajoining bathroom and locked the door. She turned the shower nobs to scalding as she stripped down. She hadn't noticed with all the fighting earlier, but now that she was alone, she realized how incredibly sore she was. As she pulled her shorts and panties down stiffly, she noticed a few small drops of blood. It wasn't muddy or dirty or anything different then what ran through everyone elses vains. But somehow she felt disgusted by it. Because she was no longer a virgin. And for the first time in her life, she felt like a mudblood.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: So We'll Pretend It's All Right.

"You said _what!_" Pansy yelled, sitting across from her best friend at a small cafe in Diagon Alley.

"I don't know why I did it. I didn't mean any of it. It was like Lucius was inside my head, making me say all these things." he explained, putting his face in his hands before running them through his hair in exasperation.

"So let me get this straight? You tell me a week ago that you have feelings for this girl. And she clearly liked you back. Somewhere along the road of the night, you two have sex."

"Bloody amazing sex." he interjected, getting angrier with himself with every word.

"You two had bloody amazing sex." she repeated. "And then you freak out and scream horrible, crude things at her? Did I get all this right?" she glared at him, her eyes showing rage towards her classmate.

"That would be correct." he said, paying their tab and walking with Pansy back up to the school.

"Well you had better go and apologize to her. I know your father has scarred you for life, Draco. And I get that. I really, really do." she told him, knowing they had bonded over hatred for both their fathers. "But you can not let him win like this. The man is in Azkaban. And your mother is a lovely person. You could have a relationship with this girl, Draco and no one would care. Sure, our house might be a little unaccepting but they will get over it. You can't let him turn you into this person. I love you, and you are better then this. You are better then him." she assured him, hugging him tightly before they both walked into the Heads common room.

"Hermione." Pansy smiled, sitting beside the Gryffindor on the sofa. Draco hung back, still not wanting to see her again after what had happened just a week ago.

"Hello, Pansy." she smiled, setting her book down on the table. "I'm actually glad you're here. Do you mind if I talk to you for a second about something?"

The slytherins were both surprised. Hermione and Pansy were friendly towards one another but had never been extremely close. And from the tone in her voice and the look on her face, Hermione was about to confide in his best friend.

"Of course. Draco, shoo shoo." Pansy said quickly, waving her hands towards the door.

"I live here, Pansy." he laughed, picking his bag up and heading out the door none-the-less.

"Thank you, Malfoy." Hermione said, shooting him a small smile.

He nodded towards her, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione turned back towards Pansy on the couch, tears welling up suddenly in her eyes.

"Oh, sweetie." Pansy said, grabbing a box of tissues from the table. "What's the matter?"

"Did he tell you anything that happened in the past week?" she asked, not wanting the girl to know.

"I'm not sure what you mean but no, he hasn't mentioned anything regarding you." she lied, wanting to comfort her new friend however she could.

"I don't have many girl friends, as you know. It's mostly just been me and the boys for as long as I can remember. And I have Ginny and Luna but neither of them would understand what I'm about to tell you." she started her story slowly, patting her eyes dry. She removed her wand from her bag and set it in her lap.

Pansy was waiting for Hermione to tell her the same story Draco had. She was ready to be her shoulder to cry on and insult her friends stupidity with her. But that wasn't at all the story that came next.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, Pansy. Please." she begged, her fingers figeting with her want as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

"I promise. You can tell me anything." she said, patting her on the leg.

"I'm pregnant." Hermione whispered, looking over at her classmate with fear in her eyes.

Pansy was silent, mouth slightly open as she soaked up the words. She started to speak but no words came out.

"Merlin, are you sure?" she asked, taking both her hands and looking her dead in the eyes.

"Yes, I cast the spell this morning. I would be due around Christmas." she said, her hands against her flat belly. More tears streaming down her face.

"Well, that's ok, Hermione. Everything is going to be fine." Pansy was now in full reassurence mode. "I will help you through his and I am sure the father will too." she said, wondering if she would tell her that it was Draco.

"No, no. It's just me and the baby. I'm actually so many classes ahead that if i score high enough on my semester OWLS then I can graduate early and no one will have to know about this." she explained, clearly already having thought this out.

"You aren't going to tell the father?" she asked, although not judging at all after everything Draco had told her.

"No, I think it's better if I just handle this on my own. Like I have always done." She said with a small smile. "But I am going to have a lot of mediwitch appointments that I don't want to go to alone." she said, looking over at Pansy.

Well, of course!" the slytherin exclaimed, hugging her friend tightly. "I know this isn't ideal but congratulations none the less. You're going to have a baby, Hermione."

"I'm going to have a baby." she repeated with a smile, hugging her back.

A few weeks had past and Hermione had gotten perfect marks on her end of term papers. She spoke with the headmaster about her situation and he agreed that it was best for her to do what made her comfotable. She had gratuated early and managed to slip out of the school without much notice. Except for one blonde haired Slytherin.

"What's this I hear about you leaving?" Draco asked, setting his bag down on the couch as he noticed her trunk on the floor of their shared common room.

"I was a few classes ahead and decided to ask the Headmaster if I would take my OWLS early. I got high enough marks to graduate so I am moving into an apartment tomorrow morning in Diagon Alley.

"Is this about what happened a while back? Because that meant nothing, I haven't even thought about it in months." he lied, not wanting her to leave. As long as they lived together, and she was close by, he was content. Even if they weren't speaking.

"That's great to hear." Hermione sneered, stacking her books into her trunk and waving her want towards her room. All her clothes flew into her luggage and the lid locked itself with finalty.

"And as good as that makes me feel, it's not about that. I had an oppurtunity to graduate early and I took it. I got offered a job at the ministry so I took it. If my life is able to start, I'm going to jump at the chance." she said, turning on her heels and heading towards her bedroom.

"Well, congratulations." he said, watching her as she walked away.

"Thank you. Believe it or not, Malfoy, I am really glad you and I got to spend this much time living together. I'm glad I got to know you." she said with a sincere smile before shutting her bedroom door behind her after she was safetly inside. And as she layed across her bed, she put her hands on her flat stomach and cried harder then she ever had before. Tomorow was it. She would move into her new flat, start her new job next week, and soon she would start to show that she was pregnant. And even though she was happy with how things had worked out, she cried harder still. Because with her friends, her family, her support system. She still felt all alone with this baby without the father. And what broke her heart was that the father was in the next room, feet away from her, and as she remembered word for word that night long ago;

_That doesn't mean I give a shit about you. _

And that only made her cry harder before she eventually fell asleep, fully clothes across her bed.

"You ready, Hermione?" Pansy asked her the next morning, standing by the fireplace with her trunk.

"Yea, let's go." she said, joinging Pansy in the main fireplace in the center of the Heads common room. Draco was still asleep in his room, Pansy noticed and didn't say a word as they left. The floo had taken them to Diagon Alley where they walked and chatted just a few blocks down the street of shops and wizards.

"This is it." Hermione said, pointing to a beautiful, single flat. It was right beside Olivanders wand shop in the middle of town. Pansy guessed that she picked this location because it was a quick walk to the Ministry.

"Its so cute, Hermione." she said, picking up her friends heavy trunk and carrying it inside for her.

"I can carry it, Pansy." she wined, but Pansy insisted.

"You are 3 months pregnant, you stubborn Gryffindor!" she shouted with a laugh. They strolled into the spacious living room, setting down her trunk and school bag.

"I love it." the dark haired girl smiled, looking around her new home.

The girls spent the rest of the evening drinking butterbeer and unpacking.

"You know, I really appreciate all you've done for me. I hope you know that, even if I dont always say it." Hermione told her with a smile.

"Of course." she replied. "You know, you must have inspired Draco because that boy took his exams early as well and moved into his own place. I'm going over tomorrow to see it. You are more then welcome to come if you want." she invited, hoping to get Hermione to open up about him being the father so she didn't have to pretend not to know.

Hermiones expression changed immediately at the mention of his name, her hands pressing against her belly.

"No thank you. I don't think he would want me there." she said simply, unpacking the last box of books onto the shelf in the small sitting room. "You wont tell him about the pregnancy, right? You're the only one who knows." she worried.

"No, I wont mention it to him. But he does ask me how you are quite a lot. He acts like he doesn't care, but he must if he's asking." she laughed, standing up from the floor. She waved her wand at the box in the kitchen, the dishes inside flying into the cupboards above the stove.

"I really should be going. But I will stop over tomorrow morning to go with you to your appointment with the mediwitch." she promised, waving goodbye to her friend and heading back to the school.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: How Could You Let Her Leave?

"Pansy, come on in." Draco called from the kitchen of his new flat after she had knocked on the front door. He waved his wand at it quickly, the barrier opening. His friend walked in and sat down on a barstool in front of him.

"Everything ok?" he asked, leaning on the other side of the counter in front of her.

"You're my best friend. And I am about to tell you something that you can not freak out about. " she started, her voice full of nerves and fear. She was about to expose a secret and she hoped to god it was the right thing to do. She knew Draco cared for her friend. She just hoped he was man enough to tell his upbringing to go to hell and fight for her.

"Of course. What is it?" he asked, grabbing her hands in his lightly. His face looked concerned as if Pansy was about to tell him that she was dying.

"I went to Hermiones new place last night to help her move in. And then this morning to go with her to see a mediwitch." she started the story off slowly with as much calmness in her words as she could.

"Is she sick?" he asked casually, putting away dishes now as a distraction.

"Draco, stop!" she suddenly yelled, her outburst causing him to flinch back in surprise. "You have got to stop acting like you don't care about her. You ask me about her all the time, you ovbiously want to know about her life. I know you guys had sex and you yelled at her, but Draco," she started, standing up from her seat to walk over to him in the kitchen. She put her hands on his shoulder, staring him straight in the eyes.

"How could you just let her leave without saying you're sorry? Without saying goodbye!"

"What brought this on, Pansy?" he asked, starting to worry about her anger towards him. She never judged him or gave him advice when he fucked up. She just accepted it and moved past it. But not this time. She was livid.

"You told me you liked her, Draco. Remember? You said she was smart and fun and beautiful. And she _is_ all those things. So why didn't you at least apologize for being so cruel after she gave you everything you wanted."

"Because all I wanted was sex." he lied, his fathers influence coming from his own lips again as he looked away from his friends sad eyes.

"Look at me." she said, moving his face to stare back at her. "Look at me and say that again and I will accept that and we wont talk about this again. But if you want to actually tell me, your best friend, the truth, then I will do the same for you. " she offered.

Draco looked at her for a moment before turning around and pacing across the kitchen and into the living room.

"What do you want me to say, Pansy?" he yelled, throwing his arms in the air. "I think about her all the time. I wish I didn't make her cry and look at me the way she did that night but I did. It's over. She's better off without me in her life. All I do is destroy. That's what all the Malfoys do." he sighed, falling down on his new green couch, the only piece of furniture in that room.

Pansy heard it. She heard the care in his voice and the regret in his words. She knew he was a good man, so she gave him a choice. Choose his heart or choose the path he was brought up to take the past 18 years of his life.

Pansy wrote down a few short notes on a piece of parchment before handing it to Draco. "If you want to see her, this is where she lives. She can never find out I told you. I wont tell you her secret but if you give a bloody care about her, you better tell her. And soon." she said before leaving his new flat and heading to her own dorm at the school.

But he never came. Months past as fall turned into winter, Hermiones due date just a few weeks away. Pansy had graduated and was living in a flat just down the block from Hermione on the other side of Diagon Alley. She was working as a spellbreaker for the Minestry on the floor right below her friend, who was an Auror. She was working from her office until after her maternity leave, when she would then go to work in the field on more dangerous assignments. She always knew she wanted to this job. She wanted to protect wizards and witches whos families were in danger. And now she finally could.

Hermione had her last mediwitch appointment this morning, making sure everything was safe and ready for the baby to be born. She and Pansy had spent last week painting the small room beside Hermiones for the baby. There was a small crib on the far wall with a wardrobe on the opposite side. The walls were a light shade of green since she didn't want to find out the sex of the baby yet, no matter how much Pansy begged her.

"Everything looks perfect Miss Granger." the mediwitch said, casting just a few spells and giving her some nourishing potions to keep her strong and healthy for the weeks to come.

"Now, I have noticed the father has not been to any of your appointments." she said with a innocent smile. Hermione nodded in response.

"I just need you to fill out these forms today so that you wont have to worry about it when the baby is coming. Just emergency contacts and infomation for the birth certificate." she said, patting the younger girl on the shoulder. "If you have any questions before you leave, just call." and with that, the two classmates were left alone.

"Are you ever going to tell me who the father is, Hermione?" Pansy asked as she watched her friend fill out many forms.

Hermione stared at the last page, looking over the blank spot where the fathers infomation was suposse to go. It asked about paternal health issues, family illnesses, even birthday and address. None of which she knew. A small tear fell down her cheek before she flicked it away, composing herself as one hand rubbed her basketball shaped belly. The rest of he managed to stay extremely patite and thin, a round ball in her middle the only sign of life inside her.

"You know who it is, Pansy. It's ok." she said with a small smile, setting her completed forms on the desk before hugging her friend tightly.

"How long have you known that!" Pansy laughed, hugging her back.

"Since you told me you didn't the first time." she laughed back, the girls walking out of the infirmery together.

"You wanker! You let me think I was so sneaky!" Pansy snacked her arm, the two heading back to Hermiones house. They were going to finish putting all the finishing touches on the babys room.

"I'll be right there with you when you have this thing, ok?" Pansy assured her with a laugh, her words none the less sincere. "And Ill come over any time you need help. You know I love Draco but that's because we have been friends since we were 3, not because I accept what he did."

"He didn't do anything, Pansy." she defended him, folding a few small outfits before stacking them neatly into her childs wardrobe. "He doesn't know I'm pregnant. He just wanted sex and I gave him that. I was a fool, but he did nothing wrong. The stuff he said to me, it wasn't anything that I didn't already know." she shrugged, closing the drawers when they were done.

"He loves you, Hermione. I'm sorry, but I know it." Pansy said, surprising her friend with the words.

"Well, maybe one day he will tell me that." she replied, tears coming to her eyes. "But until that day, I have a baby to think about. And I'm all they have so I have to be good at this. I have to do the best I can for them." she joked, handing her friend her jacket as they waved goodbye.

"You're not all they have. I'm going to be the coolest aunt ever! I will buy them their first broom even when you say they can't have one." she said, sticking he tongue out before waving goodbye. But what Hermione didn't know was that she wasn't going home. She was going to Dracos. And the chips were going to fall where they may.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: How Dare You

"Pansy? What are you doing here? Its almost 1 in the morning." Draco said, rubbing his tired eyes as he let the fellow slytherin inside.

"You never showed up. 5 months and you never did. How dare you! I gave you a chance to make this right and you just tossed it aside! She needs you, bloody hell, Draco!" she yelled, shoving his shoulders back as she paced his living room.

"Draco? What's going on?" a small voice called from the stairs. Pansy turned around to see her old friend Astoria, clad only in a oversized shirt and panties.

"Go back to bed, Astoria. I'll be right up." he said, before turning back to Pansy who was watching the half naked girl walk back up the stairs.

"Pansy, it's not what you think." he said as he watched his friend back away from his touch.

"Don't come near me." she cried, unable to believe the man in front of her was her best friend from her entire life.

"Why are you so upset? I'm not married, Pansy. I'm allowed to have a girl in my bed." he snaped, narrowing his eyes at her judgement.

"So you're _allowed _to have Astoria in your bed but not Hermione? Is that it?" she shot back, her hand on the doorknob ready to leave.

"Yes. Astoria is a pureblood. Like us. If Astoria got pregnant, merlin forbid, I wouldn't hate my own child. Imagine if Hermione would get pregnant. What would people say?" he shot, the exact words his father had spoken to him years ago coming out.

"_Draco, the girl is a halfblood. You could never have a family with her. Your children would be filthy and would be layed out for slaughter." _his father had told him his 2nd year of Hogwarts when he mentioned that a Ravenclaw girl was attractive.

"It's funny you would say that." Pansy smiled, digust in her every feature. "If you come near her, after what you just said, I will hex you myself. Because you are not the man I thought you were." And with that she was gone. And Draco was left alone. He went upstairs, kicked Astoria out in nothing but his shirt and locked the door behind her.

_What was she talking about? He didn't go see Hermione the past 5 months because she was better off without him. He would ruin her. _He thought, leaning against the front door, sliding down it until he was on the ground, his face in his hands.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:Daily Prophet

A few more weeks had passed and it was summer now in London. Draco was working as an Auror in the Ministry, no clue the his former best friend and enemy worked right near him.

It had been almost a month since he saw Pansy last and this morning he was not prepared for that part of his life to rear its head again.

**Golden Trio Witch, Hermione Granger Welcomes New Daughter Into The Wizarding World**

Below the title was a short story with a picture of her right on the front page. She looked almost exactly how he remembered less then a year ago. Her hair was curled and dark, cascading in waves down her back. Her frame was petite and thin, baring curves in all the right places. There was a small smile across her lips as she looked down at the blanket wrapping in her arms. He looked closer at the moving picture, a small round head visable over the top of the blanket. He saw that the head had white blonde hair just like his own along with his dark blue eyes.

_This is impossible. There's no way that she was pregnant when she left Hogwarts. They only slept together once. The chances were so slim. Maybe she hooked up with someone else when she left. Someone with the same hair and eye genetics as his own... _his mind began to wonder and he threw the paper onto the breakfast bar, grabbing his cloak and rushing out the door. He had to talk to Pansy.

"Pansy." he yelled pounding on the door with his palm. "Open this door now! I need to talk to you!"

"Well, hello stranger." she smirked, opening the door and leaning against the frame for only a moment before he shoved past her.

"I just read the Prophet. Is it true? Granger had a baby?" he asked, out of breath from his speed over to her home.

"Yes, it's true. Do you think they just conjured the photo out of thin air?" she snapped back, shoving her copy of the paper against his chest with anger.

"So who's the father, then, Pansy?" he demanded, throwing the paper down on her kitchen table.

"Who do you think?" she whispered, cocking her head to the side as she stared at her old friends reaction.

"How could she not tell me?" he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair as he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Draco come on. I love you but you have to admit that you gave her no reason to tell you. You let her walk away after you said those awful things to her. She actually told me a while back that she was afraid of you. I told her that was crazy and that I knew you wouldn't actually hurt anyone. But she said it none the less. You induced fear in an innocent girls heart and you want her to tell you she is carrying life inside of her? Life you told me you couldn't imagine being a part of if it wasn't pureblooded like you?" she ranted, crouching down in front of him, her hands on his knees.

"How is she though?" he asked, looking up at the slytherin girl with concern in his eyes. "Did you go with her to all the appointments? Don't tell me she went alone." he asked, frantic at the thought.

"I was there for everything. I was the only one who knew." she admitted, pulling him to his feet. "Draco, you have a chance to save this but you have to do it now. Fight for her. For your _family_. Because you love her, I know you do. That's why you stayed away in your messed up little head." she said, not giving him a chance to deny it.

"I didn't want him to come after her. My father. You know if he got word that I was being even remotely kind towards her, he would slaughter us both. I wanted her to be safe until I knew he wasn't getting out of Azkaban. " he explained, ashamed of himself

"And I knew that all along. We have been friends since we were babies, Draco. I know you better then anyone. That's why you have to believe me when I tell you that Lucius is never getting out of that place. It's ok to be with her and you know your mother will approve without his fear pushing her around. You can stop hurting her and pushing her away. You're allowed to be happy." she said.

"Thank you, Pansy. For everything you've ever done for me. Good night. " he said, rushing out the door and down the street to Hermione Grangers. The witch he hadn't seen in 9 months. The one he thought about every day.

He knocked softly on her door before stepping back to wait. This was it. She was inside this very house, her baby was too. Both of whom he was scared to see and equally excited.

"Draco?" she answered, throwing the door open and pulling her robes tight around her body. "What are you doing here? Are you ok?" she asked quickly, scanning over his body for blood of any kinda. There's no other reason he would show up on her porch with no word in the past 9 months.

But she was wrong


End file.
